Priest sentenced after pleading guilty to stealing over $100K in church funds to fuel gambling habit

    NORTH STRABANE, Pennsylvania (KDKA) -- A Greek Orthodox priest who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100,000 from his church to fuel a gambling addiction had his sentencing in front of a judge this week.

Dozens of his family members and parishioners packed the courtroom to hear his plea deal.

"Courtroom was packed. I mean, a number of family members [were] there, but there were also parishioners from three different churches. Ours (All Saints Greek Orthodox Church) Holy Trinity and Holy Cross, all of which are Greek Orthodox Churches nearby that he has had contact with those parishioners," Rev. Fr. Dimitrios Kyritsis said. "He actually grew up in a Holy Trinity Church."

Kyritsis said Father George Athanasiou had been a priest at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church for about five years before his arrest.

Athanasiou later pleaded guilty to stealing $155,000.

Despite his actions, many showed up in support during his sentencing Tuesday.

"With respect to our parishioners, some have already forgiven him, but others, it's a process," Kyritsis said. "His words, his actions, his body language. I mean, he was remorseful for what took place, and there were times when he was tearing up. And, you know, somebody asked me, 'Why do you think that was happening?' And I believe it had a lot to do with those people who spoke were people that had trusted him, and he had violated that trust."

Kyritsis has been mentoring Father George since his arrest.

"We would talk often about what happened, how he got into this situation, and his gambling addiction," Kyritsis said. "He's been in counseling ever since; he goes to Gamblers Anonymous because of his gambling addiction and that sort of thing. But he also recognizes this doesn't happen overnight. It's going to be a lifetime for him."

Kyritsis said since this happened, they've also made changes inside the church to regain the trust of parishioners.

"We took a serious look at our policies and procedures when it came to our bookkeeping and financing, that and changed many, many things," Kyritsis said.

Kyritsis said it's unclear if once Father George is done with probation, he will continue to be a priest.

"I don't know the answer to that," Kyritsis said. "That depends on the spiritual court."

As part of his plea deal, Father George paid back $155,000 in restitution. He'll now serve 12 months with electric home monitoring, five years probation, and 300 hours of community service.

KDKA-TV reached out to Father George on Wednesday. His attorney said he's not ready to talk.

"It was an emotional day for a lot of people, and I think a lot of people are relieved as to the fact that some can say it's now over, but it's not over. Again, we're still dealing with people who need to forgive and move on, and he still needs to continue his counseling to reassure that this doesn't happen again," Kyritsis said.